Immersit's Kickstarter Wants to Bring 4D Motion to Your Sofa

Pretty much everyone who's been to a theme park or moderately large tourist attraction over the past 25 years will have experienced those '4D' rides that strap you into a seat and then fling around for a bit of extra immersion. What if I told you that you could have a similar effect in your own living room?

It sounds like a joke, but I promise you it's not a joke. Immersit is a device that will put 4D-motion technology into peoples' homes, and the team behind it wants you to help by giving them money on Kickstarter.

The tech consists of four hydraulic pads that connects to your PC, games console, or AV device, and lifts the sofa around to simulate movement. The team hasn't tested it with the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, but promises that VR compatability won't be a problem since it works with the Oculus DK2.

That's good news, I would quite like to relive the experience of Universal Studios' Back to the Future ride, or the classic trips with Star Tours.

As for other things, the team has programmed a number of films into Immersit, but which ones haven't been specified. They did confirm, however, that it will be compatible with over 120 current and last gen games. But again, we haven't been told any specific titles.

As for safety, Immersit has been tested on sofas up to around 500 kg with no visible signs of stress. It also has an automatic cut off feature that will disengage the movement if a child, animal, or idiot manages to climb underneath.

If you want one, it'll cost you a €649/£509 pledge. Early bird units are set to ship in the Autumn, and remember that the price does not include a sofa. You'll have to provide that yourself.

Just remember that this is Kickstarter, so all the usual warning apply. That said Engadget have had the chance to use the gadget on more than one occasion, so it's probably not just imaginary vapourware that will never see the light of day.